John Kreese
John Kreese is the main antagonist of the original trilogy of The Karate Kid, a Vietnam War veteran, and the founder of the karate dojo Cobra Kai. Background John Kreese joined the U.S. Army at some point in the past, becoming a commissioned officer. He volunteered for and passed U.S. Army Special Forces selection training, and proceeded to serve in a Green Beret unit during the Vietnam War. He attained the rank of captain, and was the Army's karate champion from 1970 to 1972, as shown on a framed picture of Kreese in uniform, which hung on the wall of his dojo in the first film. During his time in the Army, Kreese befriended a fellow Green Beret, Terry Silver, and saved his life several times in Vietnam. Despite this, Kreese would years later maintain that Silver doesn't owe him anything, though he admits he "lost count" of how many times he saved Silver's life. After leaving the Army, Kreese opened a karate dojo, Cobra Kai, training young men in "the way of the fist". Kreese created a simple motto for Cobra Kai, summing up his view on fighting and life itself: "Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy". Appearances ''The Karate Kid'' (1984) In the first film, Kreese is a violent, cruel, brutal man who instructs his students to be merciless towards their enemies and by ordering his students to use illegal strikes at the tournament to disable their opponents. ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986) It becomes clear in The Karate Kid Part II that Kreese is racist toward Asians (judging by when he calls Miyagi a slope in the movie) In the second film, after his best student, Johnny Lawrence lost to Daniel LaRusso in the "All Valley Karate Tournament", Kreese violently proves himself as a sadistic sore loser by breaking Johnny’s trophy and try to strangle him with his arms (which is later stopped by Mr. Miyagi in a humorous way), and all the students depart from the Cobra Kai dojo. ''The Karate Kid Part III'' (1989) During the events of the third film, Kreese plots revenge against Daniel and Miyagi for the loss of his dojo and students. With nowhere to go, Kreese visits his Vietnam War buddy Terry Silver. After listening to Kreese's story, Silver decides to help him out by harassing Daniel and Miyagi and even hiring Mike Barnes to defeat Daniel in the All Valley Tournament. ''The Karate Kid'' (2010) In the 2010 Remake, Kreese never appears. However, a character named Master Li mirrors Kreese in that he teaches his students an unethical form of Kung Fu, and orders his students to use cheap shots in the tournament during the film's climax. ''Cobra Kai ''(2018-) When trying to get the ban lifted on Cobra Kai for the tournament, Johnny claims that Kreese is dead. However, in the last scene of the first season of the Cobra Kai, Kreese appears in the Cobra Kai dojo much to Johnny's shock, where he congratulates Johnny for bringing Cobra Kai back and reclaiming their champion title. Now, he has a chance to finally get his revenge against Daniel LaRusso for putting the Cobra Kai out of business, this time without Mr. Miyagi to stand in his way. Category:Antagonists Category:Cobra Kai Members Category:Males